Politics

​And the same thing happened also around Cyme in the case of the democracy which Thrasymachus overthrew. And indeed, if one examines other cases, one would see that almost all the changes occur in this manner. For sometimes, in order to curry favor, by treating the notables unjustly they cause them to band together, either by making their estates subject to redistribution or their revenues subject to redistribution by public services; and at other times, by slandering them, so that they may have the opportunity to confiscate the properties of the rich. But in ancient times, whenever the same person became demagogue and general, they changed into tyranny; for almost most of the ancient tyrants arose from demagogues. And the cause of this happening then but not now is that then the demagogues were from those who served as generals (for they were not yet clever at speaking), but now, rhetoric having grown, those who are powerful in speaking act as demagogues, but on account of their inexperience in military matters they do not make an attempt, except if perhaps some small thing of this kind has happened in some place. And tyrannies occurred in former times more than now also because of great offices being entrusted to certain persons, as in Miletus from the office of prytanis (for the prytanis was master of many and great things). And furthermore because of the cities then not being large, but the common people living in the fields, being busy with their labors, the leaders of the people, whenever they were warlike, attempted tyranny. And they all did this having been trusted by the people; and the trust was their hatred toward the rich, as at Athens Peisistratus, having stirred up faction against the men of the plain, and Theagenes in Megara, having slaughtered the cattle of the wealthy, having caught them grazing by the river, and Dionysius, by accusing Daphnaeus and the wealthy, was thought worthy of the tyranny, being trusted on account of his enmity as being a man of the people. And they also change from the ancestral democracy into the newest form; for where the offices are indeed elective, but not based on property qualifications, and the people elect them, those who are eager for office, by playing the demagogue, bring matters to this, so that the people are sovereign even over the laws. And a remedy for this not happening, or happening less, is for the tribes to elect the rulers, but not the whole people. Of the democracies, then, almost all the changes occur due to these causes. And oligarchies change in two most obvious ways: one, if they treat the multitude unjustly; for anyone becomes an adequate leader, and especially when it happens that the leader arises from the oligarchy itself, just as Lygdamis in Naxos, who also later became tyrant over the Naxians.